A Second Life corporate grid: When, not if

So, you think Linden Lab's work on inter-grid teleportation is for the benefit of third-party Second Life simulators like Opensim and its ilk? That's hardly likely, in the current climate. Actually, the ideal beneficiary for a straightforward inter-grid teleportation system like the one being developed is actually Linden Lab itself.

In what way could Linden Lab really benefit from a straightforward inter-grid teleportation mechanic? Why with a corporate grid, of course. A grid totally devoted to government, and corporate use — maybe even with educators and non-profits, if you're lucky. Teleporting to such a location from the main grid could be as easy as using a landmark to a private estate elsewhere on the main grid. So — what's the benefit of having a corporate grid?

Well, it doesn't have you or your content for starters. Sure you can go there, but that's different.

Imagine a Second Life grid without the mainland (the Linden-owned estate) — a landscape made up entirely of corporations, businesses, media companies and government agencies.

Why would a corporation or media business have a simulator or simulators on that grid, as opposed to just running their own simulators behind a firewall? Collaboration. No arguing for weeks with your IT people to get holes in your firewall just so you can bring someone's avatar in for a meeting. No third-party unsupported software riding the network DMZ. The solution has integrated voice already, and Linden's scripting system fully implemented, and its easy to blame someone else if it isn't working right.

Sure, a main-grid resident has to teleport to visit your CorpGrid simulator – if you even allow them, but they have to do that anyway on the regular grid, and here as a CorpGrid non-native they turn up without their appearance and content. Maybe a native of the Agni grid (that's the main adult grid) doesn't even have permissions to create or upload content onto the CorpGrid. In which case, about the worst situation you'd ever have to deal with would be a foul-mouthed nudist — easily dealt with at the touch of a button.

Linden Lab can operate CorpGrid sims at lower costs — those foul-mouthed nudists aren't going to be a major bother, and everyone else is beholden to their respective organization as an employee. Governance can be minimal, even virtually nonexistent.

Third-party simulators could be attached to the CorpGrid without any bothers about the owners of those simulators replicating Agni content — that content simply cannot get to the CorpGrid. With Mono about to roll out, the CorpGrid might remain completely free of any LSL2 bytecode entirely.

Users native to the CorpGrid could spend their off-time or lunch-breaks on Agni, leaving their inventory behind on Agni when they return of course.

Safe. Sanitized. Quiet — where the only content is made by businesses for their own use, or for display or conferences. A sober place of business, events and advertising (if they can entice people to come and visit — which doubtless, some will). And none of those embarrassing users native to the Agni grid.

From media, financial, public-relations, sales and marketing perspectives, the CorpGrid is pure win for Linden Lab on every front. While Linden Lab hasn't announced any such initiative, we feel certain that they will, and soon. It's too good an opportunity for them to pass up, and probably already under development. If the Lab is really targeting that market (and all the signs indicate that they are), this strategy is one of the few that makes any sense for them.